What happens if Liz Truss resigns today?
Prime Minister Liz Truss has had the worst start to her premiership than any other PM. And the last 48 hours in Westminster have been chaos.
There are rumours that the Liz Truss era is fast approaching its end, and many are plotting to oust her from No 10.
She has only been in the job since September 5.
In that time, the Queen died, Liz Truss crashed the economy, her mini-budget has been ripped up and replaced with policies that she campaigned against during the leadership race, she fired her chancellor and replaced him with a Rishi Sunak supporter, her home secretary resigned and offered up a scathing letter and there were reports of bullying from her cabinet at last night’s Commons vote.
Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng was fired after the mini-budget spooked the financial markets. Many argue that Truss should have gone with him as it was her financial vision as his.
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How does a Tory leadership election work?
According to the 1922 Committee, an incumbent Tory PM cannot face a confidence vote within their first year on the job. But there is speculation that this rule could be changed.
After that 12-month period, to trigger a contest vote, 15 per cent of Tory MPs would have to submit letters of no confidence to 1922 Committee chair, Sir Graham Brady. If at least 50 per cent of MPs then vote no-confidence in their leader, a leadership election begins.
Tory MPs who want to be in the race for the top job will then seek nominations from their colleagues. There will be a series of ballots which will see all the candidates whittled down to just two. The rank and file of the Conservative party will then choose the winner.
Boris Johnson won the general election in 2019 and although he was ousted and replaced with Truss there is no requirement for the Conservative party to call a general election.
Some MPs are understood to want to avoid putting the vote back to the ordinary members of the party. The Telegraph says some MPs want the parliamentary party to choose Truss’s successor, though others warn that this would require a complicated rule change.
This aligns with newspaper reports that say the Tories want to put Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt in office on a “golden ticket” type deal.
READ – Can Liz Truss save her job?
What happens if Liz Truss resigns today?
If Liz Truss resigns as Conservative leader and Prime Minister today, a leadership contest would begin.
Those wanting to get into No 10 would begin trying to get support for their campaign.
However, it is possible that the Tory parliamentary party could rally around a single candidate for the leadership. This would perhaps be seen as a better option as it will avoid time-wasting.
If Truss does not resign and attempts to cling on to power against the will of MPs and peers, the 1922 Committee could and would likely change the rules to allow an early challenge to her (changing the 12-month rule). This would likely see her removal from both leadership of the party and as prime minister.
Can we have a general election?
Labour and Liberal Democrats are amongst those calling for an early general election. But the government is not legally obliged to hold another general election before January 2025 – surely to the delight of Conservatives as the latest opinion polls suggest the Tories would lose most of their seats.
LIVE BLOG- PM RESIGNS
TL;DR
- A 32-year-old man named Anthony Williams has been charged with 10 counts of attempted murder following a mass stabbing incident on a train from Doncaster to London King’s Cross.
- The assault, which injured 11 people, saw one rail staff member in critical condition; police praised their heroic efforts in intervening.
- Williams is also facing additional charges related to a prior incident at Pontoon Dock DLR station and will appear at Peterborough Magistrates on Monday.
Man, 32, charged with 10 counts of attempted murder after mass train stabbing | UK News
A 32-year-old man has been charged with 10 counts of attempted murder after a mass stabbing on a high-speed train.
Anthony Williams, 32, from Peterborough, was arrested on Saturday evening following an attack on the Doncaster to London King’s Cross LNER service.
He has been charged with 10 counts of attempted murder, one count of actual bodily harm and one count of possession of bladed article following a knife attack on a train in Cambridgeshire on Saturday, British Transport Police said.
BTP said he has also been charged with another count of attempted murder and possession of a bladed article in connection with an incident on 1 November at Pontoon Dock DLR station.
Williams will appear at Peterborough Magistrates on Monday morning, police said.
Armed police were deployed to Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, where the train was stopped and made the arrest within eight minutes of the first 999 call.
Another man, 35, from London, who was also detained, was later released after officers established he was not involved.
On Sunday, British Transport Police (BTP) released an update confirming that, of the 11 people treated in hospital, one person remained in a life-threatening condition – a member of LNER rail staff who tried to stop the attacker.
“Having viewed the CCTV from the train, the actions of the member of rail staff were nothing short of heroic and undoubtedly saved people’s lives,” said BTP Deputy Chief Constable Stuart Cundy.
The train driver, named as Andrew Johnson, has also been hailed as “courageous” for his actions during the stabbings.
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